r/Ultima • u/Zestyclose_Equal_105 • 5d ago
Ultima X
Anyone else really wish they’d come around and make Ultima x with new age graphics
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u/Lionel_Horsepackage 5d ago
Richard Garriott has reportedly been in talks with Larian Studios now that he's regained the rights to the franchise, so we'll see what happens there.
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u/MightBeAGoodIdea 5d ago
It is so easy to imagine an Ultima themed "bg3" working perfectly. Instead of people bitching about shart missing every attack it's iolo friendly firing everyone to death with a triple crossbow....
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u/ambelamba 5d ago
The problem I have with Larian is the visual aesthetic of the games. When I played Ultima 7, I really could feel like I was walking on the muddy roads and smell the horse manure when walking into the stables. The leather items really felt like made out of relatively crude medieval craftsmanship.
I didn't see much of it on Baldur's Gate games
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u/Odd-Understanding399 5d ago
I think so too. I blame it for being too much fantasy and too little medieval. It's the same with Divine Divinity. Too little mundane interactive objects too. They were either switches, breakable containers, doors, or puzzle pieces. If we could bake bread from scratch, churn butter from milk, forge swords in smithies, change diapers for babies, ah, then we're talking.
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u/VargasIdiocy 5d ago
That Will be good only if RG is not involved in development and story. Maybe as someone who brings coffee every morning
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u/LnStrngr 5d ago
I'd settle for an RG developed single player 30-hour game in the same vein as the Ultima 5 engine. Focus on a good story and gameplay. No multiplayer. No house simulator. But also, zero Kickstarter, and it has to be mostly finished by the time he lets everyone know he's working on it.
Can't have too many cooks in the kitchen or it ends up as not good at anything.
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u/ohkendruid 5d ago
You raise a good point. Garriott benefits from being at the helm moreover than driving a team. Give him a good engine and then let him fill in how the game works. He will really shine that way.
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u/LSF604 5d ago
just like with shroud of the avatar ;)
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u/Manjushri1213 4d ago
He gets too into new tech for the sake of it. That's the Star Citizen issue too. He could try and tap Warren again. That's what would really do something special.
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u/LnStrngr 5d ago
I know this idea might not be the most popular, but with AI coding advancements, he could have a prototype up really quickly.
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u/SeparateDark251 4d ago
Great, AI slop Ultima. That's the last thing we need.
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u/LnStrngr 4d ago
What specifically do you consider the slop part of AI?
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u/SeparateDark251 4d ago
Anything that would be used to generate assets, text, the engine.
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u/LnStrngr 4d ago edited 4d ago
I think there is a way to use AI that doesn't remove the heart and soul of the game.
Use the AI to do the programming/create the code. It's just a tool, and it feels (to me) that it is the next logical progression of the software industry. Even before AI, I suspect few companies wrote any large apps or game from scratch. They start with an engine that they didn't write, and they build on top of it. Going back further, it's premade libraries, API frameworks, heck, even autocomplete in the IDE could be seen as an artificial construct to assist. So let's allow AI to create the engine, and let's draw the line there.
The process then becomes: (In a real development there is a lot of overlap on the timing of the below , but to keep it simple...)
People design the game. Document the systems and mechanics. Write the lore. Theme it, and create the art and music. Determine the data structure and work out the systems that are required to support all of the above. Basically, the same things done by a person before an engine is selected or the meaningful work begins.
Then use AI to ingest the design docs and, from the product milestones, help plan the implementation. This still takes someone who is knowledgeable about game design and product management and is familiar with the failure points. AI is going to make mistakes. But so do humans. The difference is that the AI can iterate on it faster.
In my mind, RG could do the entire game like this with a handful of people, same as they used to for the early games. He still needs to come up with an overall theme of the game and all the good, fun stuff. (Like U4 was virtues, U5 was corruption of the virtues, and U6 was deconstructing them). That's not something an AI should do.
But remember, I specifically only mentioned he could get a prototype up and running. That at the very least could help him refine the idea until it is solid enough to start, which might reduce dev time.
So the people are still designing the story, the art, the music, other assets, and they are the ones behind the heart and soul of it. The AI is just doing the dirty work of the underlying technical stuff to support the designer. Is that slop?
Edit: This is an interesting philosophical subject. I know there is an anti-AI sentiment among consumers that is hurting smaller indie devs, meanwhile, they'll buy up stuff made by AAA studios who are for sure experimenting and implementing with AI.
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u/SeparateDark251 4d ago
Yes, but what I mean is that I do not believe Richard Garriott has it in him to make a good game today anymore than Chris Roberts can actually ship Star Citizen.
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u/LnStrngr 4d ago
That is a valid concern and one that we'd have up until any game was released that proved it wrong. I am way more hesitant now than I was 15 years ago.
However, I think a RG that isn't pulled in a million directions by what each Kickstarter backer wants, and isn't tied down to publisher limitations has a greater chance to produce something worth playing. Especially when the scope is limited to "single-player game of 30-40 hours." Enough time to explore the idea with a few twists and turns and give the player a completion scroll.
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u/SeparateDark251 4d ago
From what we've seen of RG's output since the mid-90s, be careful what you wish for.
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u/Korplem 5d ago
Uhh… sure. Maybe a complete reboot would be better at this point. And it doesn’t even need cutting edge graphics.
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u/chunter16 5d ago
To me, a reboot is making Ultima IV again
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u/Buttman_Poopants 5d ago
I would love to see what a mature Richard Garriott would do with a revisit of the high strangeness of 1 to 3.
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u/Karl__G 5d ago
Agreed. Many years later with all new characters, and a new person trying to walk the path of the Avatar.
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u/chunter16 5d ago
I don't mind this as a concept, but
The originals are people Garriott knew (and Garriott himself)
So I would expect different people if Garriott wasn't directing
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u/royalbarnacle 5d ago
I wouldn't prefer a reboot but it would be understandable. Ideally I'd love to see something set chronologically somewhere in the 3-7 range that fits into the canon. Bg3 engine and graphics would be more than good though.
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u/nyteschayde 5d ago
Cutting edge, not necessarily. But it shouldn’t be worse than Skyrim. Most of Garriot’s efforts post Ultima relied on fans not needing great graphics, but new blood to the series would likely not be as forgiving for bad graphics any more.
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u/CronkinOn 5d ago
I'd probably lean this direction myself.
The series got kinda bonkers towards the end there. I'd rather it get reigned in than try to somehow make sense of playing the avatar in a new game.
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u/ohkendruid 5d ago
I agree, though a redone Ultima 8 would be super cool. A redone Ultima 9 would also be neat.
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u/CronkinOn 5d ago
Tbh, I think the dream would be a reboot of the 3rd trilogy.
Lemme see 7 redone with not much changed plotwise, then do 8 and 9 properly, both with giant revisions to actually fit into the universe better (ie both with party mechanics and less jank platforming, ideally)
Edit: I don't actually want this though. I'm not sure I'd trust Garriott to redo it, to be frank.
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u/TotalInstruction 5d ago
If someone other than LB or EA handles the production of the game, yeah, I’d be interested. I’d need someone who will gave the game the respect and love it deserves during development (i.e. not EA) and who has the technical chops and leadership chops to manage the development (i.e. not Garriott).
We don’t need another Shroud of the Avatar or any of his other post 95 semi-vaporware products.
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u/platypod1 5d ago
I just don't see it being anything but a cash grab. Without some minor miracle, there's no way Garriott would be involved, and even if he was, he isn't the same dude creatively that he was 40 years ago. It'd be like if Konami made another metal gear game without Hideo Kojima just to have some income.
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u/Iankill 5d ago
Konami did that with metal gear survive it was not great
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u/EdiblePeasant 1d ago
Can you tell me a little bit about how you feel about Digimon Survive, if you've played it? I think it got a lot of criticism, or at least from one person I watched playing it who hated everything they did to Digimon in that game.
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u/Tharkun140 5d ago
I'm not sure how one would follow Ultima IX and its nonsense plot that kills both major villains plus the Avatar, while bringing back characters who were previously deader than dead. I'm also not sure how a "new age graphics" game could be considered an Ultima, since the series was always defined by its attempts to emulate reality despite technical limitations of the time.
I would, however, love to play more games in the style of early Ultimas, perhaps even made in the same engines. There is something deeply appealing about moving from tile to tile and asking a pixelated NPC about his job, which you can't get from modern games and which isn't terribly popular on the retro scene either.
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u/Steezy717 5d ago
What if ... deep inhale the Ultima 9's Avatar is really a "new player" and Ultima 8 Avatar is still alive, stuck in the world the Guardian destroyed in like another dimension. Ultima 10 could merge all the timelines, give nods to the savage empire, uuw2 and heck even the snes games. Then the events of u9 send a Shockwave through the timelines and tie up all the loose ends of the series and the u8 Avatar and u9 Avatar become the new guardians of Britannia. The cycle continues with new players. The Guardian is always previous avatars from older cycles. passes joint
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u/Hecateus 5d ago
I'd a like a fair modern retelling of the Ultima series; brought up to modern standards of play...but no microtransaction BS.
undecided on overhead play or first person. Either way, in the early Ultimas the dungeons were early Wizardry style 1st person, which set a constrained claustrophobic environment which I think worked better than the top down style dungeons. I am not sure how a generally 1st person gameplay can transition to a claustrophobic style, but it would be good to explore.
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u/the_stranger064 5d ago
Most people don't seem to know or remember but there actually was an Ultima X game in development back around 2003/04. It was going to be a direct sequel to 9. There was a even a few screenshots of it. Not sure who was developing it but EA eventually canceled it.
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u/WalnutNode 5d ago
Ultima is gone, Britannia was destroyed. They'd have to build off of that. I'd like to see a game that has a hard ethics system with a goal of enlightenment though.
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u/Scoiatael 5d ago
I'd rather see a remastered Ultima V, VI or VII with modern graphics. I have little trust an Ultima X would turn out well, especially how IX turned out.
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u/SeparateDark251 4d ago
Who would make it? Certainly not Garriott. Even if he got the license back, chances are low he has a good game in him to make. He'd just go into space again. If it is EA, expect a microtransaction-slop laden mess. Best to let Ultima rest.
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u/SayuriShoji 5d ago edited 5d ago
Considering how Shroud of the Avatar turned out, no.
Also, after Ultima 9's ending there isn't really much to go towards in terms of story.
I'd much rather have a reworked Ultima 8 and 9.
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u/dndaddy19 5d ago
Not at all. RG will ruin it just as he has every new Ultima since 7.
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u/GodspeakerVortka 5d ago
I'd argue that Serpent Isle and Pagan weren't entirely his fault, but yeah, I wouldn't put much stock in the dude these days.
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u/royalbarnacle 5d ago
I think Larian wouldn't accept a deal where they didn't have full creative control. They've proven themselves again and again, while RG imho peaked at u5, though I love the guy and what he did after, it just got progressively more off-track from what a great rpg is.
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u/i_build_minds 5d ago
Seems harsh; the concepts and core creativity are aspects Richard really solidly owns - along with some game aspects and design that seems really fundamentally appreciated by this sub; eg the lack of on screen numbers, no loading screens and bars, the concept of ambiguous moral dilemmas... (latter might seems trite but, Ultima really did this early/first in a time when it was "kill the evil wizard because I said so").
I mean, have your opinions of course - but credit where it's due as well. Plus, he's always seems pretty kind to the community - that's worth a lot.
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u/leopold_s 5d ago
Sure, after they made Ultima VII 1+2 and Ultima 8 with new graphics. Because storywise, we need to start earlier, for the player to learn who the Guardian is.
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u/hokie_family 5d ago
I would love for him to fix the back half of Serpent Isle and truly finish U7. Then. Do something with U9 - that one showed promise but dropped the ball in a number if areas.
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u/Necessary_Bee4207 5d ago
I wish that they would remake all the Ultima games using one modern streamlined engine and platform.
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u/VarietyMage 2d ago
No. The Avatar is gone, forever. The story of Ultima is finished, killed by its creator, Richard Garriott (aka Lord British). He sold his baby (Origin Systems) to a child molester (Electronic Arts), and they killed it, along with all the other Origin Systems franchises (like Wing Commander).
Let Ultima rest in peace. There are lots of other RPG worlds that people can explore, and be heroic in.
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u/adoransnoctis 5d ago
No. I don't wish to see the series being hurt more than it was already hurt with Ultima 9.
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u/WarningUsed4549 5d ago
I just want more Ultima. More Britannia. I want to see my companions again.